Four (More) Things Publishers Should Consider When They Go Direct-to-Consumer

In a recent post, I suggested a few things publishers should keep in mind as they develop their D2C strategy. Here are four more:

1. Always Test First:This is one of the basic rules of direct sales and marketing. Whether it’s mailing lists, co-op data bases, CTAs (“call-to-actions”), alternate landing pages, etc.–you always start with a small test to optimize results. Of course, testing necessarily involves data capture and analysis, so be sure you and your marketing team clearly think through what data to focus on for each marketing channel given your overall strategy.

2. Use Content to Sell Content: As a publisher, you have something almost no other direct marketer has, content, a lot of it. Use it. Match the genre of your content with niche marketing channels, with genre specific social media streams, eMail, captures, and landing pages. But don’t use your content just to sell the source book. Instead, use it to create genre specific email newsletters of similar content.  Then marry your niche email sign-ups to special offers for first time buyers.

3. Deliver Unique Value: In a way, this is just an extension of the the use of content above. When you’re acquiring new customers, nothing works better than an exclusive offer. Try:

• unique bundling of products
• deluxe editions
• pre-publication offers
• time-sensitive special offers or discounts
• webinars (moderated) with key authors or around hot topics specific to your publications

• attend the key conferences
• take advantage of distance learning and webinars available
• follow thought leaders on Twitter, via RSS feeds, and blogs.
• subscribe to eMail lists, Twitter feeds, and Facebook Pages of other publishers with active eCommerce sites
• and they should then regularly present their recommendations so that new tools, strategies, and practices can be adopted.

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